Basically, what do you consider to be a “tourist trap” in your country? What are some things you see people doing that you would tell others not to do? Are visitors from certain countries known to make these mistakes?

29 comments

  1. I’m not from a large city, so we have few to no proper tourist traps.

    But two minor errors/oddities I see some tourists make are:

    1. Expecting stores to accept euros. Happens mostly with non-European tourists. Plus nearest bureau de change is over an hour away.
    2. They ask if a store accept cards. The correct question is whether the store accept cash.

  4. 1. Walking on the bike lane ( or driving , even worse)

    2. Staying in one city ( often Amsterdam) and the center at that,
    this is narrowing what they take in and makes it a lot more expensive to stay here as well as resulting in historical , valuable buildings being turned into crummy tourist accommodation. We have pretty good public transport and a high density of distinct cities.

  5. Go mountain climbing in the Alps with sneakers and without giving any thought to the weather and the difficulty. And highly overestimating their own abilities and especially the abilities of their kids they are dragging along. We had several incidents last summer where idiot parents (and teachers) and their small kids had to be rescued after dark, completely exhausted and in deteriorating weather from exposed and difficult hiking/climbing trails.

  6. Going to one of the bars or restaurants at las Ramblas in Barcelona, or if in Madrid at la plaza Mayor.

    Drinking like fishes and then complaining that they got robbed/pickpocketed at 4am in a shady corner of the city center (yes, I know, you should be able to be safe… But rule of thumb: don’t do something you wouldn’t do in your country. If you wouldn’t get trashed back home, why do you think getting trashed here won’t have similar consequences?)

    Going shirtless in the city in summer because it’s hot.

    Passing out from hangover in the beach and waking up sunburnt to death

  7. Tourist from US and Northern Europe are the fuel of the worst restaurants and pizzeria in Italy

  8. Asian tourists (boomers and older) walking around with huge amount of cash, walking slowly, purse easily accessible, letting strangers talk to them (and only react and get back like 2 solid minutes after). They are the number one target for pick pockets. They are warned by everyone before coming since years, but there is basically no differences.

  10. In general standing or walking on the bike lanes in big cities. It is seriously the most dangerous place for tourists in Denmark. Cyclists do in general not really pay much attention to traffic rules so they can be dangerous even on the pavement.

    And then some tourists, mostly Germans, fail to understand that the North Sea can be dangerous for swimmers though the beaches look so mild and comfy. It is something very different than swimming in mild waters inland or in southern Europe.

  11. Eating in brasseries just aside some major touristic areas such as eiffel tower. You can be sure it’s frozen and industrial food

  12. Ordering waffles with 15 toppings. Ordering waffles and then not understanding “which one” (there’s at least 5 different types of waffles).

  13. “Lapland baptism” is a fake ritual invented for tourists. Having one is a mistake. But it’s not their fault.

  14. Go to Amsterdam and think you’ve seen the pinnacle of the Netherlands. Amsterdam is a gigantic tourist trap with some cool museums in it.

  15. Walk inside the flower fields. There are numerous signs telling people not to do so, and yet tourists still do. They just walk over and trample all the tulips, causing a lot of damage for the farmers who planted said tulips.

  16. Put beer in the wrong glass, or pour the yeast at the bottom in the glass. Assume you can drink Duvel, Westmalle, Chimay or other strong Belgian beers like it’s pilsner. I once saw a group of Japanese make this mistake. Funny.

  17. Buying souvenirs in sketchy shops with matryoshkas and Russian hats. Please don’t. Also trdelnik.

  18. Walking on a bike track.
    Presuming all Dutch smoke weed.
    Think drugs are legal.
    Especially Americans think Amsterdam is the whole country. Or The Netherlands is Scandinavian.
    Thinking the whole country is flat. We don’t have mountains but do have hills.
    Some tourists but also expats seems to think English is the official language of the country which is not.

    Another thing I dislike, groups of tourists in small streets only looking above to building blocking the street.

  19. Going to Sunny Beach. It’s so dirty and ugly, there are much better places to spend your vacation.

  20. Mykonos. Especially tourists from outside Europe (Americans, Canadians, increasingly Asians). It’s the only place in Greece they’ve heard of, so they think they have to go there, and they’re too lazy to do research on where to go. I genuinely don’t understand what they think they’ll see there, especially the ones that take their families / young children. If you’re going there to party, more power to you. But 90% of Greece is more beautiful. Mykonos is quite boring, visually.

  21. London UK

    Tbf this is one people from other parts of the country do – sticking to the big main shopping streets when it comes to finding a meal, it will be bad and over priced while you can likely find an amazing meal 5-10 min walk away from were ever you are.

    Wanting to go to Harry Potter world and not booking before hand.

    Going on the bus tours. Most of the tourist but if the city is actually quite compact and walking you’ll find lots more interesting places. Though I will say the river can be quite good on a sunny day.

    Going to the London Eye. The views are ok, the queues are long and it’s expensive. There is a bunch of roof top gardens, cocktail bars and restaurants on top of different skyscrapers.

    Planning on getting a taxi to the air port an hour before your flight. Sorry to say unless you are leaving from city airport you’ve missed your flight. Plan a train or shuttle bus.

    And one that’s just the Americans, hiring a car. Unless the is a large group of you and planning on going somewhere remote it’s going to be a lot more hassle than getting a train.

  22. Do not, do ABSOLUTELY NOT buy Austrian name brand candy like Manner, Mozartkugeln, Heindl chocolate etc from some guy selling them off a blanket in front of an attraction site! Same goes for souvenir shops.

    You can buy all those things at basically any supermarket. In sanitized, controlled conditions and at a normal price.

    I have no idea why these people are given business anyway… I’m sure you
    wouldn`t buy a Hershey bar off some shady dude at a Greyhound station,
    why you buying Mozartkugeln at 35°C on the street in front of the
    Hundertwasser-Haus then?

  23. Going to strip clubs and getting scammed. And while there are plenty of rumors about those places threating or drugging patrons most of the problems the guys get is they are offered drinks and they never ask how much those drinks are (and they can be really expensive).

    Also treating the whole city as some theme park for their stag weekend. The covid lockdown was really nice because you could go out in the evening and not see some drunk british tourists fighting or streaking in the main square.

  24. A lot of tourists don’t know the regional differences in cuisine, so they eat the same famous italian dishes in all the places, even where they are not typical. It’s the easiest way to find tourists traps and missing the best food the place has to offer. For example, I once saw a German couple in an amazing winehouse in Tuscany asking a spritz with the meat dinner.

  25. I would say the only real tourist traps are in the old town of Riga, souvenir shops that only have Russian language souvenirs, and overpriced food, as well as basic tours. And perhaps staying only in Riga. For some that’s cool, for some that’s all they have time for, but imo it’s just a waste to come to Latvia and only spend time in Riga if you could explore more.

  26. I guess this counts for the whole of Europe, but if you find yourself in a place where all other clients you see are other tourists, you probably haven’t stumbled upon a genuine experience, you have walked right into a tourist trap.

    The people lining up for expensive waffles (Belgians don’t even eat it and certainly not the 20 topping variety (powdered sugar and cream at most)) and bad chocolate is astonishing. A tip: good shops and restaurants don’t need to depend on being in the middle of the tourist area to attract people, and generally won’t pay the insane rent prices, they’ll be a little out of the way because they are good and people don’t mind going out of their way for them.

    Manneken Pis is about 50 cm tall, the atomium is a curiosity but nothing inside is worth the prize of entrance, Bruges is not a museum so be mindful of people living there, none of our historic centres are large enough to warrant a mode of transportation other than your feet to see the highlights.

    Moules-frites don’t need fancy sauces, natuur should do the trick.

    8% beer is at least double of what you are used to, taste our excellent beers but don’t make a fool of yourself.

  27. Foreign tourists, especially Americans, trying to visit Berlin, Heidelberg and Neuschwanstein in one short holiday.

  28. It was funny to see English stag parties walking around Dublin on Good Friday looking very confused and wondering why the pubs were all shut (the law was changed a few years ago)

  29. My dad was a national express bus driver who worked the Stansted to London route. I used to help him out during the holidays and I saw some pretty common mistakes.

    1/ thinking London is small and each bus goes the same route. The amount of tourists who arrived and asked to go to London. When we asked where in London as it would determine which bus they needed they would repeat London. Ive now memorized the roads of London due to helping people find their hotel and which bus to catch.

    2/ thinking you can do London, Edinburgh, several places in Wales, Cornwall and Stonehenge on one week.

    3/(this is Americans more than any), hiring a large car and then wanting to do the small countryside areas. Roads are tiny and in most cases only one small car can get down the road.

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